Tim Tadlock and the Texas Tech Red Raiders have technically started the baseball season, but it isn’t exactly like Texas Tech baseball fans are missing all that much if they weren’t paying attention over the weekend.
The Red Raiders managed to go 0-3 at Globe Life Field when facing off against the Oklahoma Sooners, Vanderbilt Commodores, and Arkansas Razorbacks from Friday to Sunday and that record alone doesn’t tell the full story.
Let’s dig into the numbers a bit and find a few recurring issues that emerged in Texas Tech’s losses to get the season going.
No. 1: Texas Tech is already off to an abysmal start when it comes to batting with runners in scoring position
It’s really not great that the Red Raiders can’t seem to get a hit when a runner is in scoring position. Across the weekend, this was an issue. Texas Tech was 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position against the Sooners, 1-for-11 vs. the Commodores, and then 3-for-10 vs. the Razorbacks.
That’s incredibly bad!
It’s not like the Red Raiders weren’t able to get on base, they’ve already shown they can draw walks with ease (17 already through three games), but Texas Tech isn’t able to do anything when getting a man on base. And that’s a problem that Tadlock and company need to figure out ASAP.
No. 2: Why is Texas Tech’s pitching staff walking so many opposing batters?
Okay, look, I think it’s great that Texas Tech was able to draw 17 walks over the weekend. I think that’s phenomenal stuff. What is less than ideal though is the fact that the Red Raiders pitching staff managed to deal out a walk for nearly every inning that they played over the weekend.
25 walks. 26.2 innings pitched against the Razorbacks, Sooners, and Commodores. Against Oklahoma, Texas Tech issued nine walks. There were again nine against the Commodores and then seven against Arkansas.
Again, that’s a huge issue and there’s absolutely no way that Texas Tech can win many games if the Red Raiders can’t control things while on the mound.
No. 3: How on earth are the Red Raiders giving up so many stolen bases already this season?
This isn’t exactly Texas Tech’s biggest issue just yet, but it’s something that is absolutely worth keeping an eye on. I’m completely and totally confused and perplexed by the fact that so many baserunners were able to get extra ground while facing Texas Tech over the weekend.
Between the Sooners, Razorbacks, and Commodores, Texas Tech managed to give up seven-of-eight stolen base attempts over the weekend. And when your pitchers are walking essentially a batter per inning, free bases via steals can become a much larger issue for the Red Raiders in a hurry.
There’s not going to be much time to get all of these issues ironed out, but Texas Tech isn’t exactly setting itself up for a successful baseball season if the Red Raiders are going to play like this all season. The Red Raiders are off to a horrendously bad start for the 2026 season and something has to change sooner rather than later.